12/21 It will, of course, take some time to accomplish that; but, to me, Torriswood seems even now a very winsome place. And if I had my cousin Maud installed there, as mistress, I should be one of the happiest of men." "Oh! you want me to become your housekeeper ?" "Yes; housekeeper, homekeeper, heartkeeper--everything! Oh, Maud darling! can't you understand that I love you and want you for my wife, my best, nearest, and dearest friend, my heart's idol? Can't you love me in the same way--as something nearer and dearer than a mere cousin ?" Maud was blushing, trembling--wholly taken by surprise and hardly knowing whether to be glad or sorry. "Oh, Dick! how can you ?" she stammered. "We are cousins, you know, and--and cousins ought not to--to marry. |